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Jakob Rodgers

Nonprofit and health reporter

Jakob Rodgers joined The Gazette in April 2010, affording him the chance to work for his hometown newspaper. He spent time on the crime and military beats before reporting on the public safety net -- a wide-ranging beat encompassing social services, public health and nonprofit organizations.

The Colorado Springs City Council denied the latest attempt by a Broadmoor Bluffs group to halt construction of a contentious affordable housing project.

The council voted 6-to-3 against the Broadmoor Bluffs...

Tiko Hardy (left to right) coordinated with Care and Share Food Bank to start a once-a-month food giveaway at Pikes Peak Community College. The PPCC professors organized the giveaways after learning that community college students across the nation are food insecure.
Additional giveaways are planned for March 19 and in April. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)

The first day Tiko Hardy and Ann-Marie Manning handed out groceries at their new Pikes Peak Community College food bank, more than 100 people left empty-handed.

So, the two professors more than doubled their...

George Post, a homeless member who currently resides behind Rocky Top Resources, begins to break down his camp on Wednesday March 7, 2018 in Colorado Springs. Homeless in the area have been asked to leave by Friday morning at the latest. (Dougal Brownlie, The Gazette).

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office has called off the planned cleanup of a homeless encampment at Rocky Top Resources - arguing they have no legal authority to force people off the property.

Sheriff Bill...

George Post, a homeless member who currently resides behind Rocky Top Resources, begins to break down his camp on Wednesday March 7, 2018 in Colorado Springs. Homeless in the area have been asked to leave by Friday morning at the latest. (Dougal Brownlie, The Gazette).

A man found dead underneath a bridge in early January froze to death while high on methamphetamines, the El Paso County Coroner's Office found.

Marshall Reed was found dead about 4 p.m. on New Year's Day...

Members of the mechanics team for the 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry cook lunch after working on an M1 Abrams during the squadron's gunnery exercises at the firing range at Fort Carson, on Friday, March 2, 2018.
(Nadav Soroker, The Gazette)

2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division leaders Brigade commander Col. Dave Zinn, left, and Brigade Command Sgt. Maj. Anton J. Hillig, right, perform the casing ceremony right before they deployed to Afghanistan from the Arrival Departure Airfield Control Group (A/DACG) at Colorado Springs Airport on Thursday March 1, 2018. This is a ceremony where the brigade's leaders put its flag into a case for transport to the warzone. It's a symbolic way for the Army to signal its readiness for combat. (Dougal Brownlie, The Gazette).

Rifles in hand, troops from Fort Carson's 2nd Brigade Combat Team boarded a plane on Thursday bound for the United States' longest-running war.

"They understand the mission," said Col. David Zinn, the...

Homeless camps have sprung up just west of where tent city was last year near I-25 and S. Tejon St. . American Klopfenstein adds sticks to the campfire at her camp on a chilly day. Thursday, December 12, 2017. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)

Two muffled booms broke the crisp, high desert air of Piñon Canyon, sending troops in every direction ducking to the cactus-strewn dirt.

"Incoming," yelled Col. Scott Gallaway, the unit's commander,...

FILE - Chris Carr sits next to a large 5-6 hole in the ground with logs and branches as a roof. He participated in the annual Point in Time survey of the homeless on Monday, January 29, 2018. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)

Trail-side dumpsters, an hourly work program for people living on the streets and a city-sanctioned camp were among ideas floated Wednesday evening during a meeting aimed at seeking new ideas to address...